Meeting of the Meetings
City Center - Amidst the sea of dome-like buildings stands the tall spiraling Tower of Pion in the center of the Iacon city-state. The rest of the buildings in the sector seem to be built entirely around the tower itself in a well arranged circular pattern that sets the theme for the rest of the city-state's layout. This region of Iacon houses the majority of the city-state's entertainment and high classed residential districts. Thousands of multi-leveled collapsible floating highway networks extend all across the region, occupying the spaces in between the sea of domed buildings. Noteworthy areas of interest from here are the High Council Pavilions towards the north, the Autobots' stronghold of Decagon over to the west, the Central Spaceport that towers over all of Iacon to the east, and the the Forum of Enlightenment leading to the south. Suddenly, the heavy doors on the Pavilion begin to creak.. then they're forcibly shoved open by a couple of guards on each large door. Holding spears, or spear laser guns.. something, they file down to flank either side of the entryway. Greenhorn saunters out, "ATTEN-SHUN!" he shouts as the Autobot CoC rolls out of the meeting. And so, Ultra Magnus stalks out of the stuffy meeting room (not really, it was a tranquil garden with zen sand traps) with the rest of the Autobots who were.. deliberating on matters, likely what the others were discussing out here. Or not, it's possible Groove was staring at purple clouds and talking to his hand. Not entirely surprised by their presence, but not expecting it either; Ultra Magnus approaches the crowd. "Autobots, I trust you've been waiting in earnest on the proceedings?" Powerglide waves a dismissive hand at Sunstreaker. "Pfffft! You don't know what you're talkin' about. Someday you'll see what I'm talking about. Or not. More human women for me that way, heheheh." He grins like a maniac under that face guard of his. When Ultra Magnus and the other high ranking Autobots saunter out of the building, he jumps up onto his feet and brushes himself off. "Did we have a choice?" Sideswipe was about to say something to Sunstreaker when he saw Ultra Magnus and the other begin to emerge from the meeting. He elbowed Sunstreaker a little and nodded towards the others. He still hasn't forgotten his last meeting with Ultra Magnus and frowns slightly. But he crosses his arms almost insubordinately and nods. Bluestreak has been listening to the resulting conversation among the rest of the bots when Greenhorn announces the arrival of Ultra Magnus and the CoC. He looks quietly at them, waiting to hear what they have to say. Grimlock follows behind Ultra Magnus- the expression on his faceplate is blank and impassive- though anyone who's been 'fortunate' enough to sit in on a meeting with Grimlock should know how bored and/or impatient the dinobot can get. Still, there's at least a silver lining for Grimlock, as he knows how to appreciate a good enterance- not to mention an opportunity to glare menacingly at other Autobots. "What you looking at?" he growls softly to nobody in particular. Loadout had been quiet for quite some time by this point. Mainly busying himself with checking the contents of the hoversled he had been moving earlier. At least now with the CoC coming out of their meeting it sounds like the traffic jam that held him up will be taken care of soon. Of course he -could- have backtracked and taken a different route at the time...but oh well, he got caught up in the conversations taking place. Blades admires the laser-spears. He gives Ultra Magnus and the other with him a salute. It's not entirely proper, but it's not egregiously incorrect, either. Hardhead flanks Scattershot as he walks behind the others, his face is his usual grimace. His optics scan the crowd as he looks at his fellow Autobots. Sunstreaker elbows his brother back not as softly before the others get too close, and he then turns to look at them, now also curious about what the CoC had decided. Hubcap nods casually at Ultra Magnus. "Sure have, with a little debate and speculation as to the end results thrown in. Along with a few... thoughts of our own on the matter," he comments cheerfully. "We have not come to these decisions easily, I will admit. But rest assured, we've made the best and most logical choices at our disposal.. considering the unique position we've found ourselves in." Ultra Magnus huffs out, loud enough for everyone to hear.. turning to Powerglide. "Yes, though you chose the better option. Quite an accomplishment, Powerglide." "First and foremost, these Convention changes will be addressed per a personal meeting with General Cross. We will insist that Decepticon prisoners be surrendered to us for housing, with open viewing or -approved- interrogation when applicable to EDC personell." Magnus reveals, taking a couple steps closer to the gathered crowd. "Furthermore, we will not abide experimentation of -any- kind to Cybertronians.. regardless of allegiance." Pausing to let this first set of news sink in, the City Commander waits for some snide remarks or oooooooohs and aaaaaaaaahs before continuing. Probably the former. Fortress Maximus passes through along with the other members of Autobot command as the heavy doors parts ways before them. He naturally finds his place to stand alongside the CoC as he watches the crowd of Autobots in front of him intently, silently. There's not much for the Headmaster commander to say, but there is plenty to be gleamed from by the reactions of the mechs under his command if he observed closely in detail, aided with wisdom and insight. Repugnus goose-steps out of the door, putting on his best expression of mock seriousness. But he can't keep it up for long before he starts giggling and resumes a mostly normal walking stance. "Heheh, hilarious." He stares at Magnus's back for a moment. "Yeah, and I guess that includes my own experiments. That involve sharp objects. And pulleys." THERE'S your snide remark! Now, Bluestreak does what everyone else has been doing all night: arm folding. He doesn't say a word on it, just waits for everyone else to respond first. Or rather, keeping his own opinions to himself for now. Sideswipe mumbles under his breath, "Oh I'm sure Cross is just gonna loooove hearing those caviots and addendums.." Sunstreaker can't just help himself. It's not in his programming to hold his own thoughts back. "And why are we so sure he will actually /listen/ to anything we say?" Okay, nothing unexpected so far, but, Hubcap asks "And if they disagree?" "If humies no listen, me Grimlock just tell them LOUDER." Grimlock slams one fist into an open palm- then glances over to Ultra Magnus. "Hnn. That the whole meeting? Me Grimlock kinda glad me late now. Human stuff am boring." Firestar is actually here. But she's keeping to herself and leaning against a pillar in the back of the crowd. Yeah, she's antisocial like that but at least Firestar is present and accounted for. "There are no guarantees, I would expect you all to have discovered that by now. And that bridge will be crossed after the meeting with General Cross." Ultra Magnus replies to the few questions that have popped up. "Not before." Magnus continues, "As for the superweapon, we have a couple of different elements at work here. I am not at liberty to discuss them all right now, but know that we are working on methods to learn just -how- they operate and how we can defeat them, if the need ever came to it. Again, this is optic only clearance material." he finishes, leaning forward to give -some- of the Autobots a peering glare. "I'm sure you can all appreciate the seriousness of these matters, and for now they are to be treated as Autobot only sensitivity. No humans, no EDC, no allies. The buck stops here." the City Commander again pauses, this time staring directly at Sideswipe. "Finally, our newly appointed Intelligence CO is going to look into Marissa Fairborne's location personally. Isn't that right, Repugnus?" Ultra Magnus asides to the Monsterbot. Okay, maybe Magnus has lost his mind. Blades listens along to what the brass have decided. He raises an optic ridge over Repugnus being appointed Intelligence CO. Huh, maybe Intelligence will actually get something done now! Blades barely refrains from saying as much. Hubcap pauses, then raises his hand. "So... who's the new Intelligence CO?" Because he /cannot/ have understood that comment correctly. Loadout doesn't seem all that surprised by the explanations. It really made logical sense, all things considered. Everything normal as necessary and...Repugnus as Intelligence CO? A doubletake follows at this point, and then Loadout coughs into one fist, turning back to the hoversled and looking really busy...and suddenly VERY grateful that he's in the medical and technician types. Sideswipe blinks as he's glared at by Ultra Magnus. Whaa? What the hell was that all about? What did he do NOW?! Powerglide tries to hold back his laughter but he fails miserably. "Hahahahhah, what? really? Repugnus?" He turns away for a moment, trying to stifle his giggling before looking back at Magnus and the others. "Haha.. oh man. Okay, seriously, who's the new Intelligence CO?" Bluestreak raises an optic ridge at Repugnus being the new Intelligence CO. Whatever Groove was on, he was sure the Command took some of it as well. Repugnus gives Ultra Magnus a stunned look for a moment. Then a light goes off in his head. Then he grins. His grin turns evil. His head slooooowly turns towards Hubcap. "Your soul is MINE, Hubcap!" Then his grin fades. "Ahhhh, but now I have to be *responsible* if I wanna keep the job, and do paperwork, and... *dammit*! You suck, Ultra Magnus! With all due respect. Ahem, but seriously, we need the ol' gal back in charge, and, eh, I'm going to be putting you slackers to work on that." Sunstreaker gives his brother a Look before looking back at Magnus again. He can't stop the snort that comes from his vocalizer at the mech's last proclamation. Sometimes he really doesn't understand why he didn't remain a neutral. Repugnus as the Intelligence CO...?! The frag was that about? Fortress Maximus smirks slightly in amusement as he watches the mixed responses from the crowd of Autobots, "Repugnus' methods may be unique, but he has a proven track record of getting the job done when it counts. In dire times like these, results are exactly what we need." The Headmaster commander surveys the reaction from the crowd again. Hardhead looks at his fellow Autobots, his face devoid of emotion as he looks over towards Repugnus. "Congratulations." Sideswipe looks at Hardhead for a moment, raising an optic ridge as if to ask something but then looks away. "It okay, if him Repugnus get all creepy again, me Grimlock crush him!" Grimlock says with all too much enthusiasm. Grimlock then nudges Ultra Magnus, conspiritorily. Repugnus grins at all the Autobots assembled. "And rest assured, all of you, once this mess with the EDC is sorted out, Decepticons reported as going MIA will increase by 210% due to mysterious reasons that no one can account for!" Evil grin again. "Because there won't be any survivors!" He glances at Grimlock. "Huh. That wasn't too creepy, was it?" "Nah, that 'bout normal." Grimlock says to the monsterbot. "Your audial receptors aren't malfunctioning, you heard correctly." Ultra Magnus chimes in, then nods along with Fortress Maximus. If anyone isn't in approval of his methods, it's big blue. But again, trying times.. desperate measures.. all that jazz. "Members of Operations, expect Wheeljack or Perceptor to contact you directly for assistance." Magnus adds, only slight optic movement back towards Hardhead. "Military members, Scattershot has beads on more Decepticon experimentation that you will be pursuing. Finally, Repugnus will be leading the charge in finding Marissa's whereabouts." Taking a pace back, Ultra Magnus starts shaking hands with the assembled members of CoC.. and is nudged by Grimlock. Oh, now /that/ Hubcap heard perfectly well. 'Results are exactly what we need.' No mention of rules, or morals, or methods, or even /following the chain of command,/ just results. Glancing across at Blades, he smiles slightly. "Yes, well. With that all settled then, time to finish dropping these supplies off and get myself back earthside once more, hrm?" Loadout muses aloud at that, hopping back onto the front of the hoversled and operating the controls to start it shifting forward again. "Quite an interesting talk all around I'm sure..." Blades claps for Repugnus. He just can't help it. Hardhead fails to meet Magnus' gaze, but feels it, even if it was for only for a second. He looks at Sideswipe, giving him the very briefest of a head shake, before looking at Scattershot giving him a nod. "It will be good to see the war back on the Decepticon's Turf, sir." He offers up. Sideswipe looks over at his brother. There's been a lot going on since his brother headed off to Cybertron on some mission or another. But now they were together and perhaps once back Earthside, he and Blue could bring the yellow frontliner up to date. Repugnus steps around Magnus, occasionally glancing at him shiftily, walking sneakily towards Blades. "Hey. Hey buddy. Hey," he says, leaning in. "You like killing Decepticons, huh? Well, buddy, I'm gonna hook you up. You work with me, buddy, you're gonna be up to your knees in Decepticons that YOU killed. Eh? Eh?" He grins at Blades in his creepy way. Sunstreaker returns the look, arching an optic ridge. "I've missed quite a lot, haven't I? I just hope all this ins't contagious." Bluestreak looks at Sunstreaker. "What is contagious?" Blades grins right back at Repugnus, his optics lit bright, almost feverish. He rubs his hands together and says cheerily, "Anything you need... /sir/, I'll be glad to do, in the name of /duty/, of course." Sunstreaker smirks at Bluestreak before nodding in Magnus' direction. "That. Repugnus, Intelligence OC? The frag?" He says, not really giving a frag whether said mech hears or not. Bluestreak shrugs. "We heard the announcement at the same time as you Sunny." He looks at Sideswipe now, having seen the look exchange between he and Hardhead. Repugnus claps a little bit. "Heeheehee. Oh, good. I knew you'd be on board." He grabs the Protectobot by his shoulders. "Yooouuuu are my number onnnnne guuyyyyyy." His head tilts a bit. "Wait, no, not quite. But I'll keep you in mind, chum." His sinister grin turns towards Sunstreaker, next. "Oh yes, frag. Fragging is the point. Buuut... you don't seem as eager as my choppy friend here..." Hubcap's lip curls in disgust as he watches Blades practically worship Repugnus. Better to look elsewhere, perhaps. Especially as something interesting seems to be going on with Mil-Ops... Blades could not care less about being anyone's number one guy as long as he gets to hack Decepticons to bits, but he endures Repugnus's chummy behaviour in the name of future promised maimings. He looks over at Sunstreaker, who is being Sunstreaker, situation normal, and then over at Hubcap, who at least seemed to get the whole concept Blades was trying to get across. Blades raises a finger and asks, "So, you see the big, glaring loophole, right, Repugnus?" Sunstreaker snorts. "What would you know? I do my job much better than him or anyone else." Repugnus cackles a bit at Sunstreaker. "Ahahahaha--oh, wait, that wasn't a joke, was it? Oh. Well, still, I'll grant you're reasonably good at murdering Decepticons. You don't have my sense of style or humor--" I.e., Sunstreaker isn't a horrible sadist. "--but you *can* fight. You got that going." He peers over his shoulder at Blades. "Eh? Loophole. I like loopholes. Which one is this?" Sunstreaker's optics narrow slightly at Repugnus' words. No matter how much he tries, he will never like that guy. "Thanks Primus I don't have your style. I would rip my own helm-vents off if I did. And of /course/ I can fight. I am the best for a reason." Blades glares at Sunstreaker, reaching for one of his blades instinctively, and he snaps, "You do your job better than I do mine? You think that, do you, prettyboy? Why don't we switch, then? I'll do hand-to-hand comabt, and you'll do air support. Oh wait, you can't! But I can do my job /and/ yours -" his tirade is cut short because Repugnus asked him a question. His head whips around, and he points out, gesturing with the blade in his hand, "That if we aren't people under their laws because we aren't human, then none of their laws apply to us. We can do /anything/. Wiretaps. Breaking and entry. Whatever. It's not illegal, because those laws are for /people/." Repugnus just grins at Sunstreaker. He's about to troll him some more when Blades pipes up again. Repugnus gives them this huge, wide-opticked look. "You. Are. A. FREAKING GENIUS. Do the other Protectobots know that you're the smartest member of the team? I don't think they do? Man, that's brilliant! I could break SO many laws... and get away with it!" He scratches his chin. "Hm, well, I'd still have to be stealthy about it. Animals don't have rights, either, but the humans still put them down if they get too uppity." Bluestreak says, "Why does Blades get what I have been saying all night long?" Bluestreak grumbles." Hubcap freezes, and slowly pivots around to stare at Blades. He didn't, surely he didn't just... Oh hell, he /did/, he just told the Autobot's resident, or at least worst, sociopath that they are outside of the law. "There's no /way/ this can turn out well." Blades rubs the back of his helmet and protests, "Hey, I'm no nerd. First Aid's the booksmart one. An' Streetwise is better with geography. An' Hot Spot... yeah, nevermind." He waves his knife-hand dismissively. "But I'm glad that you'n Bluestreak at least get what I'm saying. Anyway, I've got a watch to stand, so I'll see to that." As Blades walks off, he cheerily calls to Hubcap, "Well? No, this is going to be /perfect/." Hardhead watches Blades and Repugnus and their exchanges, he continues to remain silent as he moves to return to the next shuttle heading back to Earth. Repugnus grins at Blades. "Wellllll, point taken. But still! That was a very good idea! Don't worry, though, Hubcap, it'll work out great! We're gonna kill so many Decepticons, you'll see!" He checks the watch that isn't on his left wrist. "Oh, my! I better go, too. I gotta set up my office!" He hustles away. Bluestreak gets up. Everything he heard should be to his satisfaction tonight. But it just was /not/ the case. It wasn't even about Repugnus being Intel CO either (although he was just as surprised as everyone else). He turns and changes into his alt mode, and proceeds to drive down the highways. Hubcap raises a hand in a half-hearted wave to Blades as the Protectobot leaves to stand shift. Eying Repugnus carefully, he tries to convince himself that this might be a /complete/ disaster... except Repugnus already seems to have forgotten what they were actually tasked to do. Oh well, maybe he can actually get things done while Repugnus is off killing 'Cons. He'd better talk to Elita. And so, the two meetings have finally joined together and come to a close. What will come of Ultra Magnus' meeting with General Cross? Is First Aid already a counter agent?? Will Sideswipe and Sunstreaker ever take an order without back talking??? Will you learn to believe in invisible foxes???? Tune in next time, to find out all this.. AND MORE!!